Flutterwave Hosts High-Level Digital Economy Roundtable At IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings In Washington

Flutterwave gathers global leaders at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings to discuss regulatory passporting and scaling Africa's $1.5 trillion digital economy.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 16, 2026, 11:27 AM EDT

Source: The information in this article was sourced from Peoples Gazette

Strategic Dialogue on Global Soil Flutterwave, a leading African payments technology company, hosted a Digital Economy Roundtable in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 2026. Held on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, the event gathered a high-profile group of global investors, policymakers, and technology leaders. The session, moderated by Invest Africa’s U.S. CEO Shannon Stround, focused on evaluating current investment landscapes and the infrastructure required to scale digital services across the African continent.

Infrastructure as a Payments Superhighway Bankole Falade, Flutterwave’s Chief Legal, Regulatory, and Public Policy Officer, led discussions on "Building Africa’s Payments Superhighway." He reflected on the company’s decade-long evolution from a fragmented network connector to a comprehensive financial operating system. Falade emphasized that the next decade's objective is to connect Africa seamlessly to the global market using unified APIs, effectively turning "disconnected islands" into an integrated economic bloc.

The Push for Regulatory Passporting A primary highlight of the roundtable was the advocacy for "Regulatory Passporting." This framework aims to reduce the high costs associated with cross-border entry by harmonizing regulations across different African jurisdictions. By creating interoperable systems and deeper regional integration, Flutterwave leaders argued that businesses could more easily access larger addressable markets, moving past the limitations of individual national economies.

High-Profile Collaboration The event featured significant representation from both the Nigerian government and global financial institutions. Notable attendees included:

Dr. Jumoke Oduwole: Nigeria’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment.

Haytham Elmaayergi: Executive VP of Global Trade at Afreximbank.